Set up Sage Payroll

After you install Sage Payroll and License your software, you can set up your company.

It's easy to do and the amount of time it takes depends on how much information you want to enter.

1. Initial administration set up

Log in to Sage Payroll as the system administrator, then complete the following tasks:

Create your company payrolls

Set up a payroll for each pay frequency in your company, for example, weekly, monthly, etc.

To keep your data secure, you can create a unique password of each payroll you create. Read more in our Company Manager guide.

Create a payroll user profile

Before you can access your company payrolls, you must create a user profile.

To keep your data secure, you can specify passwords and access rights for each person using Sage Payroll. For example, Some people will process payroll, but not carry out payroll year end tasks. Use our Set up payroll access groups and users guide to do this.

Enter your company details

1. Log in as the payroll user you've created.
2. Click Company/Payroll and then click Company Details.
3. Complete The Company Details window. Enter all the details and settings specific to your company.

2. Set up the payroll calendar

To help organise your company's payment dates for the year, you must Set up the payroll calendar. When you set a pay period, the dates automatically default to those set up in the calendar. You don't need to manually enter them each time.

3. Set up your payments

When you Set up a new payment, you can choose from a number of different payment types. For example, hourly pay or fixed salary pay. You can also specify whether a payment is subject to universal social charge (USC), social insurance (PRSI), tax and pension calculation.

4. Set up your deductions

Deductions are amounts taken from the employee's pay before they receive it, such as pension contributions or loan repayments. When Setting up or editing deductions in Sage Payroll, specify if the amount comes from gross or net pay.

5. Create your employee records

Once you've set up your company payroll, you need to create your employee records.

1. On the menu bar, click Processing then click Employee Details.
2. Click New, then enter the employee's personal details.
    NOTE: Every employee will have a valid PPS number. In the absence of a PPS number, you must enter their date of birth and home address. 
3. Click Next.
4. Browse through each of the tabs and enter the relevant options as required, then click Save.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for each employee you want to set up on this payroll, then click Cancel.

NOTE: If you've moved to Sage Payroll from another software provider during the tax year, you need to Enter Employee Year to Date Values.

What to do next

You're now ready to process your payroll. Use our guide on How to process your payroll.